In a back and forth matchup between the El Camino College Warriors men’s basketball team (1-1) and the Fresno City College Rams (1-1), the ball was up in the air for either team.
Both teams traded baskets left and right until the last second, when Rams guard EJ Johnson hit a 3-pointer to win against the Warriors, 74-71, at the ECC Gymnasium on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Rams point guard Dominic Cummings dominated the game with 24 points.
”We took a bad loss last week and I feel like we needed to bounce back,” Cummings said. “We needed this win today, so I came out with the mentality, let’s get a win and start the season right.”
In the first half, Cummings had 12 points, only 2 behind Warriors forward Justin Cricri who led his team with 14 points. Cricri led the Warriors in points with 19 for the game.
The last time these two teams faced each other was eight years ago in the 2017-2018 season, with the Rams dominating in a 103-85 win.
Robert Haynes, new Rams basketball coach, said the team is rebuilding after losing 12 players last season.
“I got a whole new crop of guys here, so the goal is to be patient but I’m a competitor. You wanna win, but we wanna win longevity as well,” Haynes said.
At the 15 minute mark in the second half, Warriors forward Jalen Baker got the crowd roaring with a vicious dunk to give his team momentum.
The Warriors showed up to the match ready to battle, with their chemistry and team spirit on fire.
The team chanted “defense” at each turn, while the Rams stayed composed on their sideline.
“I know one thing we value ourselves in this program… really getting kids with character through hard work that really want to matriculate and move on,” Warriors coach Robert Uphoff, who is entering his 12th season with the team, said.
The Rams weren’t as vocal and didn’t start out as strong as the Warriors, but they kept on going, prevailing at the end and winning once again after eight years.
“I think it was a good game overall, we just lost focus at the end. Honestly, we were up, we had it in us to win but lack of discipline. The little things cost us the win at the end, but we’re just going to learn from this and come back stronger,” Cricri said.
The Warriors will next face the Coalinga College Falcons (1-1) at home Friday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m.
Editor’s note:
- This story was updated Friday, Nov. 7, to include the final score.
